There are plenty of NFL observers who have not decided if the read-option offense is a fashionable short-lived gadget or the long-term future of pro football.

CBS-TV studio analyst Bill Cowher sees the read-option having a role in the NFL, as long as you have the right quarterback to operate it.

We asked Cowher about the read-option in part because his background is as a defensive coach in the NFL. Before becoming head coach of the Steelers in 1992, Cowher was defensive coordinator for the Chiefs for three seasons, and before that the defensive backs coach for the Browns, where he started his NFL coaching career as a special teams coach for Marty Schottenheimer.

"That’s a great question obviously given the success Washington has had, but even right now with Colin Kaepernick," Cowher said a telephone conference call. "I think it will be studied a lot in the offseason by defenses, as a lot of these trends tend to be. But you have to have the right person who has to be able to not only run but throw. That’s what RGIII and (Colin) Kaepernick provide. Also Russell Wilson. I believe it’s something where you have to find the right person. But I think there is a place for it to some degree in the NFL."

About Bob Wolfley

Bob Wolfley retired in October 2014 He wrote the SportsDay blog and column and about TV and radio issues.